Protesters say fracking doesn't suit state waters

Miyoko Sakashita , staff attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, holds a boogie board together with almost two dozen activists outside the California Coastal Commission meeting at the Long Beach City Council Chambers in Long Beach in an effort to put a stop to offshore fracking of oil wells on Wednesday. The Center for Biological Diversity, Food & Water Watch, and concerned community members voiced their concerns regarding health and environmental risks that may be caused by fracking. ANIBAL ORTIZ, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

In protest of fracking that’s taken place in Long Beach’s waters as recently as December, about 20 fracktivists, some in faux hazmat suits, chanted outside a California Coastal Commission meeting Wednesday at City Hall.

Four December fracks on the Wilmington Oil Field in Long Beach were reported to online fracking registry FracFocus, which bothers many environmental groups that hope to see greater oversight of the well stimulation technique from the Coastal Commission.

“Hey there, CCC, you can keep our coast frack free,” the protesters cheered, their words trickling into the chambers where the meeting was held.

The commission argued at its meeting last month that it doesn’t have the power to ban the oil well stimulation technique along California’s coast. The protesters said they would at least like local coastal plans to require permits for coastal development permits for fracking in state waters.

“It’s a dangerous, dirty practice that really threatens our wildlife, our coast, the people that use them,” Center for Biological Diversity staff attorney Miyoko Sakashita said. “I like to take my kids to the beach. The thought of oil companies out there dumping their waste right into the ocean concerns me very much.”

Fracking cracks loose oil and natural gas from rock with a burst of fluid that includes water, sand and chemicals; oil companies use it to increase production on existing oil wells or gain access to oil trapped in shale. The CBD, which organized the Long Beach protest, and other groups contend that fracking introduces toxic chemicals into the environment and pollutants into the air and can increase the risk of a well blowout.

Fracking regulation is being drafted in Sacramento after the state legislature approved a frack permitting law, SB 4, in September. Coastal Commissioners said in February that they’ll seek to work with several state regulatory agencies in consulting on a scientific study about on fracking that will inform the regulation, but they don’t expect the study to be completed until well into 2015.

Fracking has been done without incident in Long Beach’s offshore wells since the 1970s, according to Kevin Tougas, manager of oil operations at the Long Beach Gas & Oil Department. The Coastal Commission reported in February that 195 fracks have taken place since the 1990s.

No frack reporting regulation has ever been in effect in Long Beach, but the department has complied with state and federal regulations, Tougas said. He said the process is safe, done in a closed system far from the water table and without discharging into the ocean – which oil rigs in federal waters have been allowed to do.

“We’re far, far away from any drinking sources,” Tougas said.

Only a handful of comments were allowed on fracking at the beginning of the commission’s session Wednesday – though comments on fracking at the February meeting went on for over an hour. The commission didn’t take any action on fracking at its February meeting after receiving a report on what commission staff knows, and the process wasn’t on its agenda Wednesday.

The fracktivists came anyway, from groups including the CBD, Food & Water Watch and 350.org, because they want their voices heard any time they can.

“Any chance we have to speak out against fracking, we will be there,” said Joe Galliani of the South Bay Climate Action Group.

Miyoko Sakashita , staff attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, holds a boogie board together with almost two dozen activists outside the California Coastal Commission meeting at the Long Beach City Council Chambers in Long Beach in an effort to put a stop to offshore fracking of oil wells on Wednesday. The Center for Biological Diversity, Food & Water Watch, and concerned community members voiced their concerns regarding health and environmental risks that may be caused by fracking. ANIBAL ORTIZ, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Andrea Weber, paralegal with the Center for Biological Diversity, leads a group of activists in a chant outside the California Coastal Commission meeting at the Long Beach City Council Chambers in Long Beach on Wednesday. The Center for Biological Diversity, Food & Water Watch, and concerned community members voiced their concerns regarding health and environmental risks that may be caused by offshore fracking.ANIBAL ORTIZ, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Wearing a hazmat suit, Solomon Leyva, 32, holds a sign with a fish and the words tuna against fracking in front of the Long Beach City Council Chambers in Long Beach on Wednesday. A group of almost two dozen protestors, led by the Center for Biological Diversity and Food & Water Watch, gathered in front of the chambers after voicing their concerns about fracking before a California Coastal Commission meeting. ANIBAL ORTIZ, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Activists wearing hazmat suits and carrying boogie boards gathered outside the California Coastal Commission meeting at the Long Beach City Council Chambers in Long Beach in an effort to put a stop to offshore fracking of oil wells on Wednesday. The Center for Biological Diversity, Food & Water Watch, and concerned community members voiced their concerns regarding health and environmental risks that may be caused by fracking. ANIBAL ORTIZ, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Activists wearing hazmat suits and carrying boogie boards gathered outside the California Coastal Commission meeting at the Long Beach City Council Chambers in Long Beach in an effort to put a stop to offshore fracking of oil wells on Wednesday. The Center for Biological Diversity, Food & Water Watch, and concerned community members voiced their concerns regarding health and environmental risks that may be caused by fracking. ANIBAL ORTIZ, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Andrea Weber, paralegal with the Center for Biological Diversity, leads a group of activists in a chant outside the California Coastal Commission meeting at the Long Beach City Council Chambers in Long Beach on Wednesday. The Center for Biological Diversity, Food & Water Watch, and concerned community members voiced their concerns regarding health and environmental risks that may be caused by offshore fracking. ANIBAL ORTIZ, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Alexandra Nagy, an organizer with Food & Water Watch, holds a sign of harmful chemicals used in the process of fracking outside the California Coastal Commission meeting at the Long Beach City Council Chambers in Long Beach on Wednesday. The Center for Biological Diversity, Food & Water Watch, and concerned community members voiced their concerns regarding health and environmental risks that may be caused by offshore fracking. ANIBAL ORTIZ, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
A sign used by a group of activists trying to put a stop to offshore fracking sits on the floor outside the California Coastal Commission meeting at the Long Beach City Council Chambers in Long Beach on Wednesday. The Center for Biological Diversity, Food & Water Watch, and concerned community members voiced their concerns regarding health and environmental risks that may be caused by fracking.ANIBAL ORTIZ, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

1 of

User Agreement

Keep it civil and stay on topic. No profanity, vulgarity, racial
slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about
tragedies will be blocked. By posting your comment, you agree to
allow Orange County Register Communications, Inc. the right to
republish your name and comment in additional Register publications
without any notification or payment.